


Heart of the Ocean

by TheTwoFlamingos



Category: The Blacklist (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-30
Updated: 2016-03-30
Packaged: 2018-05-30 04:57:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6409693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheTwoFlamingos/pseuds/TheTwoFlamingos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Since the day of her exoneration, Lizzie decided she would do everything in her power to make her fantasy of a family come true. To do that, she need's Red to no longer be a factor in her life, so she pushes him away. But everything isn't as it seems...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Heart of the Ocean

**Author's Note:**

> Couldn't have done this without my flamingo, Sebashtien!

**Heart of the Ocean**

She really was hurting him. It killed her every time she saw the look of pain, and despair flash in his eyes when she brought up Tom, but her plan was all coming together now, so she had to press on, despite the pain she felt knowing how badly she was hurting Red. She wasn't sure how much longer she could continue to pull off this charade though, to act like this awful version of herself in order to convince Tom she still loved him, that she wanted a life with him, and the baby. But she knew if there was ever to be a chance for her and Red to be together, to find peace and happiness with one another, Tom needed to be completely out of the picture.

While she sat in her cell at the justice building, waiting to hear if Red was successful in procuring her freedom, she had hatched this plan of revenge, and deception. Granted the news of her pregnancy was an unforeseen hitch in her plans, but in the end it ultimately worked to her advantage when it came to convincing Tom of her future, albeit fake plans, with him.

The wedding part of her ruse went somewhat according to plan. She had expected Red to come to her, plead with her not to go through with the ceremony, and as usual, he didn't disappoint. It had taken everything within her to stop herself from running into his arms, and telling him everything. To take his hand, and just run. The two of them.

She knew if she told Red she wanted to leave right then, there wouldn't be a moment's hesitation on his part, swooping her away to safety from this wretched place. But they couldn't do that. Not yet at least. His passionate attempt to sway her decision had brought her to tears, and she ended up having to tell him quite rudely to leave. She was getting too close to completely breaking down.

“Please, Lizzie. I implore you, I’m begging you not to do this. He isn't who you think he is,” he pleaded.

“He’s changed.” She had a hard time even believing herself as she uttered this false statement.

“No, Lizzie. Men like him don't change.”

Her heart completely shattered at the utterly broken look etched across his face. It was at that moment she feared she had truly lost him forever, and that thought scared her more than anything in the world. She felt her panic start to bubble up within her, so she altered her response to come across as angry, rather than upset.

“You should leave Red. It's obvious you don't agree with today's scheduled events. So just go,” she snapped as her eyes burned into his own. “There’s no place for you here anyway.”

She felt an icy fist clench around her heart, as his broken expression changed to the coldest, most inhuman mask in his arsenal; indifference. He was closing himself off to her, and she could do nothing but watch, as all of the progress they had made while on the run together was blown away like the proverbial line in the sand.

He affixed his fedora back on his head. “Right. Well, I wish you all the happiness in the world Agent Keen,” his words were harsh, and for a moment he regretted them, but only for a moment.

He spun on his heels, and stalked out of the room, gently closing the door behind him.

The soft click of the lock was louder, and resonated more deeply around her than any slammed door ever could. Her hope, when her mission was complete, was that Red would still be there to let her explain. To tell him the reasoning behind her mood shift, and her abrupt change in actions since the night he picked her up outside the courthouse. She needed to explain to him why she's acted the way she has been, but at that very moment, she feared that she may never get that opportunity.

She took a deep breath, and composed herself, throwing back on the mask of a happy, blushing bride. Her mission was almost over.

She stood up, and looked herself over in the mirror once more before grabbing the bouquet, and making her way to the door which lead to the chapel. Before she got there though, the door slowly opened again, and Aram stuck his head in.

“Everyone is ready for you.” A small smile spread across his face. “You look radiant, Liz.”

“Thank you, Aram. I'm as ready as I'll ever be!” She took his hand, letting him escort her to the head of the aisle.

They paused for effect, and waited for the wedding march to start playing before he let her go so she can start the slow trek down the aisle toward Tom.

Look at him smiling at me. Bastard. If only he knew what I have in store for him. Her train of thought caused a genuine smile to break out on her face.

Judging by the smile he beamed back at her, he bought her act that she was happy. That she was actually enjoying this charade. After what seemed like a lifetime, she made it all the way down the aisle, standing next to Tom, and in front of Cooper. The ceremony started traditionally enough with the reading of bible passages, and a couple anecdotes from Samar and Aram.

“If anyone here has any objections to this couple getting married, speak now or forever hold your peace!” Cooper recited.

Lizzie looked around, everyone was smiling, not a single objection was uttered.   
Cooper opened his mouth to continue but was rudely cut off by the doors to the church slamming open. Lizzie whipped her head around, and felt her heart sink as Red stormed in, shotgun in hand.   
“You've got to be kidding me!” Tom’s exasperated cry rang through the church.

No, no, no. What the hell is he doing? I thought he left? Lizzie’s mind was racing. This isn’t part of the plan!

Lizzie stumbled suddenly as Tom barreled past her, moving towards Red. “You just don't get it do you. She chose me, not you. You lose old man!”

Lizzie watched as Red darted from one window to another. “As coincidental and happenstance as my timing is, I assure you I'm not here to purposefully crash this most auspicious and joyous occasion. In fact, your current employer is here to do that, and I believe he’s here for more than a slice of the wedding cake.”   
No sooner had the words left Red’s lips, one of the window panes near Lizzie shattered, she ducked down as low as she could with a heavily pregnant belly.

“Get her out of here!” Red yelled as he returned fire.

Before she knew what was happening, she felt herself being pulled up off the floor, and all but dragged away. Busting through the door, she forced herself out of her momentary daze, and allowed Tom to lead her outside, to the waiting car.

This definitely speeds up my original timeline. Oh well.

They tore down the streets, putting as much distance between themselves, and the church, as they could. Lizzie stared out the window, her thoughts turning to Red as she watched the scenery whip past her.

Is he ok? Is he safe? He could be hurt. Slowly, she started to concentrate more on her breathing, evening out her heart rate, as she felt herself slowly calm.

He’s Raymond Reddington. He’ll be ok. He’ll be ok. She leaned her body into the door at her right side, and closed her eyes, wanting to build up and conserve her strength for the fight she knew she was about to have.

30 minutes later, she opened her eyes as the car started to slow down. Taking in her surroundings, she could see that they've made it to the marina, where they had planned to finally sail away on Tom’s little boat into the Atlantic sunset. Throwing the car into park, Tom hopped out of car, and made his way straight toward the boat.

Red would have opened my door she thought as she glared into the irritating backside of her almost husband. Dodged that bullet. Thanks to Red. She made her way out of the car, and toward the boat.

As she stepped over from the dock onto the rocking side of the boat, she felt the satisfying rub of her compact .45 glock brushing against her inner right thigh.

Just a little bit longer, and you'll be free she eased herself.

She watched as Tom untied the anchor, jumped up to the helm of the boat, and threw it into gear, slowly trolling their way out of the inlet, making their way out into the open ocean. She knew she needed to conclude their business before they got too far out in the water. Though it didn't look terribly difficult to drive this thing, she honestly didn't know how. Lifting her dress, she pulled the pistol from her garter and aimed it at her target.

“Tom!” She yelled, trying to make it sound as desperate and pleading as she could.

He whipped around to face her. “Lizzie, what are you doing?”

“Something I should have done a long long time ago.” She felt her finger tighten on the trigger.

In a split second, gone was “Tom, the sweet school teacher”, whom he had reverted back into the past couple of weeks, and now looking back at her was Jacob.

“I applaud you. Didn't think you actually had it in you, Lizzie. Seems we were playing each other. How long?” His curiosity irritated her, for what reason, she did not know.

“Since the day of my exoneration. While I was sitting in my cell, with nothing to do except wait, I concocted this little plan. Not the best or most creative I’ll admit, but effective nonetheless.”

“Bravo. I'm actually impressed. You had me, and everyone fooled. Even Reddington! I bet that was fun, to pull one over on him. Must have felt good to hurt him after…” He paused as he saw her mask of cold indifference falter a bit at his words.

“Wait...you can't be serious Lizzie! You actually have feelings for him? He's a washed up has-been. How could you possibly want him, when you could have a man like me?” He spat at her.

“Don't flatter yourself Jacob, you're not even a quarter of the man Red is. In fact, you're actual worth wouldn't even fill the fingernail on his pinky finger.” She growled.

His words made her blood boil.

“Well, be that as it may, after the way you've treated him these past weeks, he’s probably already taken off to another country, where he’ll easily replace you with a finer piece of ass, babe. Or, better yet, he could be lying dead in that church. Where you left him.”

Hearing her recent past actions towards Red thrown back in her face made her gut clench, the moments flashing across her mind like the slide show from hell. Her words and actions, she knew, had cut him to the core, and she had no one to blame for his pain, but herself.

“You're right, he could be. He’s a good man, and he deserves to find a good woman who will bring him only happiness, and I fear I have lost my chance at being that woman for him. Not after the way i’ve treated him these past couple of weeks. As much as I long to be his, and still hope to be one day, I know he deserves so much better. But the fact of the matter is, I love him, more than anyone or anything in this world. I'll fight for him, as he has fought for me, and will do whatever I have to, to win him back. I know I have so much to apologize for, and I hope one day he’ll forgive me for how much I've hurt him, but for right now, you've out stayed your welcome” she said, training her eyes back on her target.

At that moment, Tom lunged straight toward her, but before he could get too close, Lizzie managed to squeeze of two shots, one hitting him square in the chest, and the other piercing a piece of the boat just behind him. Though she had hit her mark, the danger wasn’t over yet as his momentum continued to carry him forward, until both he and Lizzie toppled overboard. As her back hit the water, she saw the boat explode into a big ball of flames.

As she struggled to stay afloat in the turbulent sea, she tried in vain to look around for Tom’s body. She needed to see that he was indeed down for the count. The current started to pull her farther and farther away from the boat, the undercurrent hindering her ability to keep her head above water for longer than a few seconds. She kicked to the surface, gasping for air, and wiping away the water from her eyes. As her vision cleared, she saw directly in front of her, the face down floating body of Tom.

Mission accomplished.

Her moment of clarity didn’t last terribly long, as another current drug her under water yet again. As her vision started to blur, and water filled her lungs, a burst of adrenaline coursed through her system, giving her the strength she needed to fight a little longer for herself and for her baby. With her last bit of energy, she managed to kick herself back to the surface, gasping for air as she breathed in a lungful, coughing up water in the process.

The more she fought, the weaker she felt herself get, her limbs started to function progressively slower and slower. Just as she's felt the last of her strength leave her, two strong arms wrapped themselves around her like steel bands, and she felt herself being propelled up to the surface.

At first, she feared Tom was still somehow alive, but as her fogged mind started to clear, she heard a voice she thought she’d never hear again.

“I’ve got you Lizzie. You're ok sweetheart” Red breathed harshly into her ear.

He came, Red came for me. She squeezed her eyes shut in relief.

His arm was wrapped tightly under her breasts, holding her to him as he swam with her back to shore. Blinking the water out of her eyes, she saw Tom's boat barely still afloat in front of her, still completely consumed by flames.

“Relax your body Lizzie. The more you tense up, the harder it'll be on both of us,” he puffed out in between breaths.

She focused on relaxing her body, clamping down lightly on his arm around her. Faster than she thought, they reached the shore and felt Red stand up. Taking a moment to catch his breath, he leaned down and helped Lizzie to stand in the thigh high surf, holding her steady as she found her balance against the waves. They managed to keep their footing, and together walked through the shallow water the rest of the way to the sandy beach.

Slowly, they made their way a couple paces up the shoreline, then sat down heavily in the sand, Red pulling her body into his lap to cradle her against him. One arm securely wrapped around her shoulders, the other draped over her knees, as he pulled her in as close as he could get her. He burrowed his face through her wet, matted hair, until his nose was pressed into the crook of her neck, breathing her in with long deep pulls.

She shifted a bit, and managed to wrap her arms around him in return. One went over his shoulder, while the other wormed its way under his armpit, hands meeting in the middle to pull him in tight. Instantly she felt herself relax into him, pressing her own face into his shoulder, focusing on calming herself down. After a beat, she pulled her head back to look at him.

“Red. I'm so so sorry. For everything. I-I can explain…” but he cut her off.

“Shh, I know” he soothed. “I wasn’t aware of your plan until this morning, when all the pieces started to fit together. You should have come to me Lizzie! There were other ways, other means of achieving this goal. You could have gotten yourself killed...” he breathed out exasperated, feeling his anger quickly starting to rise, but calmed when he felt her right palm cradle his left cheek.

“Please forgive me Red. I treated you so horribly, but I honestly didn't mean any of it. It was all just a ploy, an act to draw Tom in unsuspecting. To get him to trust me. It literally broke my heart a little more every time I had to push you away and hurt you. The truth is, I love you Red, I love you so…” But was cut off again as his lips captured hers in a brutal, punishing kiss.

After a beat, he pulled back and rested his forehead against her own.

“I love you too Lizzie. So damn much. You have my forgiveness, even though you don't need it sweetheart. I heard everything you said on the boat to Tom. On a side note, you really need to brush up on your observational skills, because I was afraid you'd see the Mercedes hidden behind the warehouse, giving away my treacherous plan of becoming a stow away on the boat,” he laughed, trying to lighten the mood.

“You knew all morning what I had planned, but you still came to the church and asked me not to go through with it?” She asked slightly confused.

“You’d already come this far with your plan, I figured we’d see it through. My acting skills were impressive though weren't they? My senior year in high school, I played Hamlet in my high school's drama production. I was quite good.” he said haughtily.

“Yes you were good. Very convincing in your heartbreak. Too convincing if I may say so. And how in the hell did you get to the Marina before we did?” she asked, her brow creasing in confusion.

“I left the church right behind you and Tom. There is another way, a faster way it would seem to get here. It probably also helped that I broke every traffic law in the state” he chuckled.

She couldn't help but start laughing herself, though her laughter quickly turned into sobs as the weight of everything from the past couple of weeks came crashing down on her. She was finally free. THEY were finally free.

“Hey, none of that love. It's over and done with. It's all in the past. We move forward from here together, the three of us.” he said hopefully, bringing his hand up to wipe her tears away with the pad of his thumb, smiling softly when he felt her turn her face into his palm to nuzzle it.

“I want that too. More than anything Red. For the three of us to move forward, be a family.” She smiled at him as she grabbed his hand that was cupping her cheek with her own, and brought them down to lay flat against her extended belly.

“A family,” he whispered against her lips as he took possession of them again in a gentler kiss this time.

So caught up in one another, they hardly took notice of Dembe quietly approaching them from behind, draping Red’s large Canada goose parka over their shoulders, immediately infusing some modicum of warmth back into their bodies.

The Cabal dismantled, Tom killed, The Major and his network taken down, and Solomon now six feet under. Thankfully, their list of enemies was slowly dwindling down. Apart, they were powerful, but together, they're a force of nature. Holding one another close, their future held nothing but the sweetest possibilities. No matter what came their way, they'd face it together. The three of them against the world. 


End file.
